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Saturday, September 3, 2011

Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape » PostRank #EDREFORM #EDCHAT #WIUnion #sosmarch #p2 #pfla #1u



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Blue Jersey:: Ed Reform 101: Teachers Unions

2011-Sep-2
Blue Jersey:: Ed Reform 101: Teachers Unions: Ed Reform 101: Teachers Unionsby Jersey JazzmanBlue Jersey's Ed Reform 101 Part 4 - Myths about Teachers UnionsGovernor Christie's attacks on teachers unions have been simply astonishing. Rather than reach out to unions to work for real educational progress, Christie has instead demonized unions to the point that he would rather give up federal funds than work with the NJEA.What Christie ignores in all of his bluster, however, are a few important facts. ...
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Big Education Ape: 9-2-11 AM American Schools in Crisis EDition

2011-Sep-2
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now: Published by Coopmike48 – 6 news spotters todayNext update in about 11 hoursSee all articlesHEADLINESEDUCATIONSOCIETYPOLITICSSTORIESBUSINESSSCIENCE#EDPRIVATEERS#DANCEOFTHELEMONSChicago teachers respond to bashing by the mayor and the mediamichaelklonsky.blogspot.com - Teach-In at the Thompson Center (M.Klonsky pic)It's sad, yet understandable that some Chicago teachers feel the need to prove to the public that they work hard. If any of our local politicians trie... mikeklonskyAmerican Schools in Crisis | Saturday Evening Postsaturdayeveningpost.com - (Photo courtesy Radius Images/Corbis)If you read ...
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Big Education Ape - PostRank 5

2011-Sep-2
Big Education Ape - PostRank 5U.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future | Detroit Free Press | freep.comU.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: U.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has spent the better part of his ...Street Journal: SP Affirms Some Student-Loan ABS: Wall Street Journal: SP Affirms Some Student-Loan ABS by C. Cryn Johannsen When the country ...
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Friday Churn: Rhee & Spellings show | EdNewsColorado

2011-Sep-2
Friday Churn: Rhee Spellings show | EdNewsColorado: Friday Churn: Rhee Spellings showby EdNews staffWhat’s churningMichelle Rhee and Margaret Spellings are due in Denver on Sept. 13 to talk about business involvement in school reform. The event is being organized by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.Rhee, former Washington, D.C., schools chief and a familiar figure on the ed reform lecture circuit, was last in Denver in May (see story).Spellings, now with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and education secretary under ...
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Blue Jersey:: Ed Reform 101: Teachers Unions

2011-Sep-2
Blue Jersey:: Ed Reform 101: Teachers Unions: Ed Reform 101: Teachers Unionsby Jersey JazzmanBlue Jersey's Ed Reform 101 Part 4 - Myths about Teachers UnionsGovernor Christie's attacks on teachers unions have been simply astonishing. Rather than reach out to unions to work for real educational progress, Christie has instead demonized unions to the point that he would rather give up federal funds than work with the NJEA.What Christie ignores in all of his bluster, however, are a few important facts. ...
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Big Education Ape: 9-2-11 AM American Schools in Crisis EDition

2011-Sep-2
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now: Published by Coopmike48 – 6 news spotters todayNext update in about 11 hoursSee all articlesHEADLINESEDUCATIONSOCIETYPOLITICSSTORIESBUSINESSSCIENCE#EDPRIVATEERS#DANCEOFTHELEMONSChicago teachers respond to bashing by the mayor and the mediamichaelklonsky.blogspot.com - Teach-In at the Thompson Center (M.Klonsky pic)It's sad, yet understandable that some Chicago teachers feel the need to prove to the public that they work hard. If any of our local politicians trie... mikeklonskyAmerican Schools in Crisis | Saturday Evening Postsaturdayeveningpost.com - (Photo courtesy Radius Images/Corbis)If you read ...
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Big Education Ape - PostRank 5

2011-Sep-2
Big Education Ape - PostRank 5U.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future | Detroit Free Press | freep.comU.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: U.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has spent the better part of his ...Street Journal: SP Affirms Some Student-Loan ABS: Wall Street Journal: SP Affirms Some Student-Loan ABS by C. Cryn Johannsen When the country ...
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Friday Churn: Rhee & Spellings show | EdNewsColorado

2011-Sep-2
Friday Churn: Rhee Spellings show | EdNewsColorado: Friday Churn: Rhee Spellings showby EdNews staffWhat’s churningMichelle Rhee and Margaret Spellings are due in Denver on Sept. 13 to talk about business involvement in school reform. The event is being organized by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.Rhee, former Washington, D.C., schools chief and a familiar figure on the ed reform lecture circuit, was last in Denver in May (see story).Spellings, now with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and education secretary under ...
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Last Stand for Children First: Meet Tim Graye--Our Newest Transformation Academy Associate

2011-Sep-1
Last Stand for Children First: Meet Tim Graye--Our Newest Transformation Academy Associate: Meet Tim Graye--Our Newest Transformation Academy Associateby Last Stand for ChildrenIt was 2008 and I was vaulting through the air in the middle of my back flip at the Nationals. I realized at that very moment how fortunate I was to be part of a dynasty. At Hawaii Pacific, we didn't just win cheerleading championships, we revolutionized cheerleading at the college level. I just joined another team that ...
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Cursive removed from K-12 curriculum | Kansan.com

2011-Sep-1
Cursive removed from K-12 curriculum | Kansan.com: Cursive removed from K-12 curriculumOriginally published August 31, 2011 at 11:36 p.m., updated August 31, 2011 at 11:36 p.m.ShareCommentFacebookDiggDeliciousPrintLexie Forman-Ortiz, a senior from San Francisco, is unknowingly becoming the exception rather than the norm for students in college. She stands out because of something she does every day: write in cursive. Some educators now consider cursive to be outdated and unnecessary, and this year’s state educational standards no longer require that it be ...
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We the People: Announcing White House Petitions & How They Work | The White House

2011-Sep-1
We the People: Announcing White House Petitions How They Work | The White House: We the People: Announcing White House Petitions How They WorkPosted by Macon Phillips on September 01, 2011 at 07:00 AM EDTSomething exciting is coming to WhiteHouse.gov. It's called We the People and it will significantly change how the public -- you! -- engage with the White House online.Our Constitution guarantees your right to petition our government. Now, with We the People, we're offering a new way ...
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The reformers’ obsession with ‘young’ teaching talent - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011-Sep-1
The reformers’ obsession with ‘young’ teaching talent - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: The reformers’ obsession with ‘young’ teaching talentBy Valerie StraussThis was written by educator Anthony Cody, who taught science for 18 years in inner-city Oakland and now works with a team of science teacher-coaches that supports novice teachers. He is a National Board-certified teacher and an active member of the Teacher Leaders Network. A version of this post appeared on his Education Week Teacher blog, Living ...
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Report: Florida Legislature’s Expansion of Education Privatization a “Risky Experiment” and “Traditional Public Schools Suffer” | Scathing Purple Musings

2011-Sep-1
Report: Florida Legislature’s Expansion of Education Privatization a “Risky Experiment” and “Traditional Public Schools Suffer” | Scathing Purple Musings: Report: Florida Legislature’s Expansion of Education Privatization a “Risky Experiment” and “Traditional Public Schools Suffer”by Bob SikesThe Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy issued a report that serves as a stunning rebuke of not only the most recent legislative session’s education agenda, but also of the one dominated by republicans over the last four years. The report, researched and written ...
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U.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

2011-Aug-31
U.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: U.S. schools chief says he's optimistic for Detroit district's future U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has spent the better part of his administration referring to Detroit Public Schools as one of the worst urban school districts in the nation, but he said this afternoon he believes the district is on the road to improvement. “I’m more optimistic today about Detroit’s future than probably any ...
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Flawed Federal Standards Mislabel 913 Newly Identified Schools as 'Failing’ (CA Dept of Education)

2011-Aug-31
Accountability Progress Reporting for 2010-11 - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education): Torlakson: Record Share of Schools Meet State Academic GoalsFlawed Federal Standards Mislabel 913 Newly Identified Schools as 'Failing’SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that a record 49 percent of California schools met or exceeded the state’s Academic Performance Index (API) target, even as the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) formula threatened to label 913 newly identified campuses as failing. In all, 55 ...
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Diane Ravitch On How To Fix K-12 - Forbes

2011-Aug-31
Diane Ravitch On How To Fix K-12 - Forbes: Diane Ravitch On How To Fix K-12 Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. In addition, she is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. From 1991 to 1993, she was Assistant Secretary of Education.Gallery: In Pictures: Educational Hits And Misses Through The Ages To improve education, the first thing needed is a sense of modesty and scale. ...
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Declining Teacher Salaries Leave Many with Low Morale | West Orlando News Online #sosmarch

2011-Aug-31
Declining Teacher Salaries Leave Many with Low Morale | West Orlando News Online 2011® Central Florida News, Info, Sports: Declining Teacher Salaries Leave Many with Low Morale Stephanie Rothman has done the math. On her roughly $48,000 a year salary, the 15-year high school English teacher in Broward County barely gets by.In the last year, Rothman has had to abandon a Boca Raton home she could no longer afford, moving into a room at a friend’s house and feels “cynical ...
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RheeFirst! - Aw shucks, Rhee First. T'wern't nothin'..

2011-Aug-31
RheeFirst!: Aw shucks, Rhee First. T'wern't nothin'.. Written by Mike Klonsky for his SmallTalk blog. Read the entire article here. “I got credit today for coining the term RheeFirst by the authors of the blog by the same name. …If there’s some kind of monetary award, I will accept it proudly and use it to buy the next round over at the Heartland Cafe’s Buffalo Bar. Instead, somehow, all it’s done is put me in the middle of dust-up between ...
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SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium - Materials and Resources

2011-Aug-31
SMARTER - Materials and Resources: Materials and ResourcesThe documents below provide additional details on the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium.SMARTER Balanced Assessment ConsortiumOne-page OverviewStates that are members of the ConsortiumOrganizational ChartJuly 2011 - SMARTER Balanced Quarterly ReportApril 2011 - SMARTER Balanced Quarterly ReportMaster Work PlanSBAC Summative Assessment Master Work Plan (8" x 14") (PDF)SBAC Summative Assessment Master Work Plan (11" x 17") (PDF)Race to the Top ApplicationExecutive Summary of SBAC Race to the Top Assessment Application (PDF)Race to the Top Assessment ...
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Change in LAUSD reform plan gives internal groups an edge - LA Daily News

2011-Aug-31
Change in LAUSD reform plan gives internal groups an edge - LA Daily News: Change in LAUSD reform plan gives internal groups an edgeBy Connie Llanos, Staff WriterPosted: 08/30/2011 09:28:18 PM PDTUpdated: 08/30/2011 09:29:14 PM PDT The latest round of Los Angeles Unified's new Public School Choice plan would give an edge to internal, district-based teams that compete to run new schools, under a plan approved by the school board Tuesday.School Choice was designed to improve education through competition, by ...
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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's longer-school-day argument is full of holes

2011-Aug-31
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's longer-school-day argument is full of holes: Rahm's longer-school-day argument is full of holes The mayor says he "can't wait for a high-class" debate on a longer school day. I'm not sure what he means by "high-class." I hope it means he won't spice up his arguments with his usual F-bombs. I hope it doesn't mean that only his billionaire advisers like Vitale, Pritzker, Stains, and Koldyke will be heard on this important issue. In any ...
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Schools Matter: Guest Post: Assumptions that 'Just Seem Obvious' to Steve Brill

2011-Aug-30
Schools Matter: Guest Post: Assumptions that 'Just Seem Obvious' to Steve Brill: Guest Post: Assumptions that 'Just Seem Obvious' to Steve Brillby Robert D. Skeels * rdsatheneBy John Thompson There is a long line of education experts exposing the factual errors in Steve Brill's Class Warfare so, instead, I set out to illuminate the assumptions underneath his brand of "reform." I was overwhelmed, however, by the number of times that Brill, and the non-educators he fawned over, discovered findings that ...
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Politics-State | Rep. Melton to resign, take job with Michelle Rhee's education reform group | The Detroit News

2011-Aug-30
Politics-State | Rep. Melton to resign, take job with Michelle Rhee's education reform group | The Detroit News: Rep. Melton to resign, take job with Michelle Rhee's education reform groupKaren Bouffard/ Detroit News Lansing BureauLansing — Democratic State Rep. Tim Melton is dropping plans to run for the 14th District U.S. House seat and will instead move to Sacramento, Calif., to focus on education reform.Melton of Auburn Hills announced on his Facebook page Tuesday that he will join StudentsFirst, the ...
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Shanker Blog » Quality Control, When You Don't Know The Product

2011-Aug-30
Shanker Blog » Quality Control, When You Don't Know The Product: Quality Control, When You Don’t Know The Productby Matthew Di CarloLast week, New York State’s Supreme Court issued an important ruling on the state’s teacher evaluations. The aspect of the ruling that got the most attention was the proportion of evaluations – or “weight” – that could be assigned to measures based on state assessments (in the form of estimates from value-added models). Specifically, the Court ruled that these ...
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The Trouble with Steven Brill's Black-and-White Worldview :: Frederick M. Hess

2011-Aug-30
The Trouble with Steven Brill's Black-and-White Worldview :: Frederick M. Hess: The Trouble with Steven Brill's Black-and-White Worldviewby Frederick M. Hess • Aug 30, 2011 at 9:30 am Cross-posted from Education Week Print Send RSS ShareSteven Brill's Class Warfare is a highly readable, fairly reliable, if incomplete history of contemporary efforts to "reform" American schooling. Kudos on the readability--there's way too little of that. The guy's a terrific writer and really captures the flavor of the debates. I don't think ...
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NYC Educator: I'm a Lucky Duckie, Dude

2011-Aug-30
NYC Educator: I'm a Lucky Duckie, Dude: I'm a Lucky Duckie, Dudeby NYC EducatorLike, dude, I used to be all, like, let's hold the teachers accountable? And everyone, like, was mean to me just because I never actually passed the tests I said they all needed to pass or get fired? But like now, dude, I'm, like, giving up all my principles? That's right, dude, I take no responsibility for any of the stuff I wrote before, and I'm getting ...
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No Erasure Left Behind Is Key to Stopping Test Mischief: View - Bloomberg

2011-Aug-30
No Erasure Left Behind Is Key to Stopping Test Mischief: View - Bloomberg: No Erasure Left Behind Is Key to Stopping Test Mischief: ViewIllustration by Bloomberg ViewAug 29, 2011 5:00 PM PT 3 CommentsQinShareMorePrintEmailThe plague started in Georgia, then made its way to Washington, Philadelphia and New Jersey. No, it’s not the trailer for “Contagion,” September’s big pandemic movie, but a distressing number of suspected cheating scandals in elementary and middle schools.The No Child Left Behind Act, enacted in 2002, ...
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Anti-bullying program for 4th through 8th grade

2011-Aug-29
Students In The Know: about news contact sponsors donationshomeeducatorsstudentsparentsresultsTaking a stand against bullyingAnti-bullying program for 4th through 8th gradeThe web-based interactive program was created to help students and educators recognize the dangers of bullying and cyber bullying. Our primary emphasis is to inform students of preventative measures related to bullying as well as to develop effective communication strategies. The program generates data, which can be compared by class, school, or district in an effort to monitor effectiveness of bullying prevention ...
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First Education Summit will gather minds to turn 'school reform' talk into tactics

2011-Aug-29
First Education Summit will gather minds to turn 'school reform' talk into tactics: First Education Summit will gather minds to turn 'school reform' talk into tacticsBY CORINNE LESTCH DAILY NEWS WRITERMonday, August 29th 2011, 4:00 AMVictor Chu for NewsBronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will host the first Education Summit in the Bronx.HandoutThe keynote speaker will be longtime school reform advocate Diane RavitchRELATED NEWSCourt KOs UFT lawsuit against citySnubbed? Walcott not invited to education happy hourEditorial: Making the gradeWalcott pushes ...
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Jersey Jazzman: Polling Ed Reform

2011-Aug-29
Jersey Jazzman: Polling Ed Reform: Polling Ed Reformby DukeThere's sure to be a lot of ink spilled about the latest Monmouth poll on education reform. A few thoughts: Drop down to item #7:What kind of job do you think the standardized tests used in New Jersey schools do at accurately measuring students’ abilities – excellent, good, only fair, or poor?Notice the construction is "only fair"; that's clearly a pejorative. 31% of those polled say tests do an "excellent" or "good" ...
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Peoples Press Collective | Colorado Politics | Hanushek Connection: Lobato Testimony, Funding Research, Waiting for “Superman” :

2011-Aug-29
Peoples Press Collective | Colorado Politics | Hanushek Connection: Lobato Testimony, Funding Research, Waiting for “Superman” :: Hanushek Connection: Lobato Testimony, Funding Research, Waiting For “Superman”by Eddie | 10:28 am, August 26, 2011 | No CommentsIt’s been a couple weeks since I chimed in on Colorado’s Lobato school funding trial — in particular on the dubious $115,000 taxpayer-underwritten study proclaiming that our state’s K-12 education system is inadequately funded. Well, believe it or not, the District Court hearing is still ...
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Some schools will cut teachers' sick days - WTAQ News Talk 97.5FM and 1360AM

2011-Aug-29
Some schools will cut teachers' sick days - WTAQ News Talk 97.5FM and 1360AM: Some schools will cut teachers' sick daysMonday, August 29, 2011 8:17 a.m. CDTA teacher in a classroomUNDATED (WSAU) At least some Wisconsin school boards are cutting the amount of sick leave for teachers. With the new limits on collective bargaining, unions no longer have a say over those benefits in districts where contracts expired on June 30th. School officials say they need to cut what they ...
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Jersey Jazzman: Fear Chinese Schools?

2011-Aug-28
Jersey Jazzman: Fear Chinese Schools?: Fear Chinese Schools?by DukeWe've got to make our schools were more like the Chinese, who are going to kick us in the economic teeth! Just like the banksters keep telling us! Or not... "Terrible" Education System Is Main Impediment 11. (SBU) However, Lai identified China's "terrible" educational system as presenting a serious impediment toward achieving a shift to a more knowledge-based economy. The current system promotes copying and pasting over creative and independent
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Last Stand for Children First: Extending School Day is The Answer to All Our Problems

2011-Aug-28
Last Stand for Children First: Extending School Day is The Answer to All Our Problems: Extending School Day is The Answer to All Our Problemsby Last Stand for ChildrenLast Stand for Children First has been involved in the education reform movement in Chicago since last winter when we were asked by Mayor elect Rahm Emanuel and business leaders in the Civic Federation to help with their grassroots efforts to fundamentally change education in the city. This effort came to fruition ...
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Create a free web-based community at Lotsa Helping Hands

2011-Aug-28
Create a free web-based community at Lotsa Helping Hands: Sign In Tell a Friend Careers Looking for a Community?“Your web site has helped our family in so many ways! People keep telling me how they wait for our entry every day to see how he is. It is just a great way to communicate. Also, the calendar and ability to get everyone’s phone numbers is a great asset. Thank you for all your work!”John, family memberHomeCreate a CommunityHow It WorksWho ...
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From Florida Public Employees : Corporations and Charter Schools « Continuing Change

2011-Aug-28
From Florida Public Employees : Corporations and Charter Schools « Continuing Change: From Florida Public Employees : Corporations and Charter SchoolsAugust 28, 2011 by gatorbonbc Rate ThisFlorida Public Employees:Is this more about serving corporate interests than improving education?http://www.keysnet.com/2011/08/25/371815/charter-schools-on-upswing-up.html Original Facebook Status: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=150747251645924v=wallstory_fbid=213788508677354
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Modern School: Non-Profits As Union-Busting Shock Troops

2011-Aug-28
Modern School: Non-Profits As Union-Busting Shock Troops: Non-Profits As Union-Busting Shock Troopsby Michael Dunn Bay Area Community Resources (BACR), a San Rafael-based non-profit, was implicated in the San Francisco Unified School District payment scandal, in which Associate Superintendent Trish Bascom funneled $100,000 from the organization into her pockets and those of a few cronies. Now, according to a report by the Bay Citizen, former BACR treasurer Ruth Rubalcava is accusing the organization of keeping SFUSD administrators on its payroll and ...